After asking strangers to adopt him, St. George man arrested for sexual solicitation, vehicle burglary

ST. GEORGE— A St. George man was charged with multiple misdemeanors following his arrest Monday at the Red Cliffs Mall. He faces charges related to soliciting women for sexual acts in exchange for money, committing vehicle burglaries, thefts and other offenses.

Jayden S. Nilsson, of St. George, Dec. 10, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

St. George Police officers responded to a call about a suspicious person at the Red Cliffs Mall where an initial report said a young man was “asking strangers to adopt him,” according to a probable cause statement.

Two additional calls claimed the man offered one woman $800 to perform a sexual act on him and offered up to $1,200 to a second woman.

Officers found the man in the south parking lot of the mall and asked for his name. He replied it was “Jayden Black” and initially refused to give the officers his information even after being told he was being detained for the sexual solicitation incidents, according to the probable cause statement.

The man eventually produced a Utah ID that had Jayden Black on it. However, a check of his Social Security number listed him as 19-year-old Jayden S. Nilsson.

Officers told Nilsson he was under arrest and attempted to place handcuffs on him but he tried to pull away. Two officers ended up holding Nilsson by each arm while he “was trying so hard to pull away that he was leaning forward and (the officers) were holding him up,” according to the probable cause statement.

Nilsson was told to stop resisting by the officers, yet kept trying to pull away while also attempting to twist his arms out of the officers’ grasp.

Despite warnings from the officers that they would “lay him on the ground” if he didn’t stop resisting, Nilsson persisted and officers followed through with their warning. Nilsson was put on the ground and handcuffed, the probable cause statement reads.

A subsequent search of Nilsson produced two wallets that didn’t belong to him. Nilsson told officers he had stolen the wallets as well as a backpack he had with him from unlocked vehicles in the mall’s parking lot.

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About the Author

Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction, often telling people go left while he is pointing right. Numbers greater than five also confuse him.